


After A Battle

by MaeBlueJay



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, During Canon, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Funny, Post-Canon, Protective Jonathan Byers, Sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25659019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeBlueJay/pseuds/MaeBlueJay
Summary: What happens after The Battle Of Starcourt? How does El cope? Missing scenes from those 3 months.
Relationships: Dustin Henderson/Suzie, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. The Hellish Night

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! If it isn't clear by now, I really enjoyed season 3 of Stranger Things, and It's been a year now and I know I still have another year and a half (probably) until the next season comes around, so I decided to write this. All off this is from Elevens perspective and there will be a lot of stuff I put in here. I also just watch Umbrella Academy season 2 and I'm having withdraw. But anyways, please enjoy this!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All hell breaks loose after The Battle Of Starcourt, and Eleven must face that Hopper is dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have decided to write this only because I am bored. I also just watch Umbrella Academy season 2 and I am having withdraw so I needed to write this to take my mind off of things. Anyways, this is mostly from the POV of Eleven. Anyways, Enjoy!

Eleven sat with Mike in the back of the ambulance, her head resting against his. She was so tired and weak that it was a shock that she was still awake, but El knew the real reason why she was. _Hopper._ He promised that they would meet after he turned off the key, and now she was just waiting for him to come back with Joyce and Murray. All she could do now was listen so Mike's breathing and the sting of her leg as it throbbed. _Her leg._ It hurt so badly and felt like it had been ripped off, but when she looked down, it was still somehow attached. She remembered how about an hour and a half ago how Hopper, Joyce, and Murray had meet up with everyone, right after the monster came out of her leg. Mike had filled in some of the parts, though. 

_1 hour and 42 minutes ago..._

El looked up to see Hopper's foot on the flesh blob that had just emerged from her foot, Joyce and Murray behind him. She couldn't tell if she felt more relief or worry because even though Hopper was here, they were still being chased by the mind flayer. Before Eleven could even finish her thought, something knew washed over her. Her eyes started to fluter shut and she felt her body start to fall, her body passing out. Mike caught her upper half and he laid her on the ground, and she could faintly hear him calling her name as she was finally knocked out. Hopper ran over to her limp body and dropped to his knees when he got to her side. 

"El," he asked her, shaking her shoulder. 

"Hop, she's exhausted," Joyce said. He nodded his head, knowing she was right, and looked up at everyone else.

"We need to bandage her," he said.

"There's one in Scoops, I'll go get it," Steve said, and ran to Scoops Ahoy. As Steve ran away, Hopper froze. _Steve's face._

"What the hell happened to Harrignton's face?" The girl who was wearing the same outfit as Steve spoke after a minute.

"He- I- Russian's... their under the mall, in a base. They found us a gave him that face. They also drugged us..."

"Which is how I made the choice to never have kids," Dustin said. 

"And you? Did they get capture you aswell," Hopper asked.

"No, we escaped through the vents," Another one said. 

"Okay who are you two," Hopper asked both of the girls.

"I'm Robin and that's Erica," she said. 

"I'm Lucas' little sister," Erica said. At that moment, Steve ran back with the med-kit and gave it to Hopper. Hopper grabbed the Alcohol wipes and prepared himself for El to wake up screaming. 

"Mike, get ready for her to jerk awake," he said, and at that moment, he put the wipe on El. Like he expected, she woke up at once, but didn't scream and instead moaned. 

"I know it hurts I'm sorry," Hopper said. El could only feel pain in her leg as the wipe was rubbed over her leg. Tear's poured down her face as the pain went on for another minute. When Hopper was done, El was close to screaming, and she let out a shaky breath. She was with Hopper, and he would protect her.

_Back to present._

El came back to reality when she heard Max's sobs from the ambulance next to her, and all she could do was sigh. Max had been through hell the last 30 minutes, and all Eleven could do was listen to her. El had watched Billy die right in front of her, him being murdered by the mind flayer. She remembered that black blood oozed out of him as he died, and Eleven shuttered. _That could have been me._ Suddenly, El looked up to see Joyce hug Will, and she got up, limping. El looked around for Hopper, knowing she would see him any minute. Any minute.... El looked at Joyce, confused, and when Joyce looked back, El's world fell apart. Joyce's eyes told sorrow and pain, and El had seen that look in Max' eyes tonight. And all at once, it hit her. _Gone into the blackhole. He's gone._ El felt the tears running down her checks, and her hand's cupped over her mouth, but no sound came out. Nothing. Her leg's didn't buckle, she didn't drop to her knees, she just did and said nothing. But her brain did. The weight of his death crushed on her mind, and nothing that had happened tonight mattered. Nothing mattered. El saw Joyce run up to her, and at that very moment, she did what she should have done. She fell into Joyce had started to cry louder and louder, attracting the attention of Mike who had been watching her but had not been sure what was going on. She felt him hug her tightly and her knee's buckled under her. _He's gone.... **He's gone**.... _El cried into both of them, almost screaming. Joyce let go finally, whispering something to Mike, and the only person who was supporting her weight was Mike. 

"I've got you...shhhh it's okay....." The world started to turn black all around El and she started to feel that sinking feeling again. _I'm passing out._ This time however, she welcomed it. 

_Mike's P.O.V_

Mike caught Eleven as she passed out, and he looked around wildly. _Where is Joyce? She told me she was going to go see if Jonathan was okay..._ Mike spotted her a second later hugging Jonathan, and he called to her. 

"Mrs. Byers!" She looked over at him, and so did Jonathan. As soon as they saw El, they ran to her at once. Jonathan picked her up and Joyce checked her pulse. 

"She's okay, i think- I think it's shock," Joyce said, half crying. 

"Mom, we need to get home," Jonathan said, much calmer. She nodded and looked around for Will, but instead saw Karen and Ted running over to where they were. 

"Mike!" Mrs. Wheeler threw herself at Mike, and he could barely breath. 

"Hi mom," he said. 

"Where is Nancy," Karen said, letting him out of the hug. 

"Over there," Jonathan said, looking at Nancy. Karen nodded and grabbed Mike's hand, pulling him to Nancy.

"Mom-I need to go with the Byers!"

"No! You are coming home with us." Mike was about to protest when he realized that he couldn't argue. He sighed, knowing tonight was gong to be long. 

_Joyce' P.O.V_

Joyce made her way to the car with her son's and El. She had gotten the all clear from Owens and was allowed home. Jonathan placed El in the back with Will and Joyce turned on the car.

"Mom, are you okay," Jonathan asked.

"Yeah-yes... I'm... I'm good." Joyce was half lying. She wasn't hurt, but her heart ached for Hopper, and she was still crying a little. 

"What happened," Will asked. 

"We will swap stories when we get home." They drove home in silence, and when they got there, Joyce told Jonathan to put Eleven in his bed so she could sleep. The three of them all sat in the living room and Joyce sighed as they looked at her. 

"We went to go turn off the machine and a Russian attacked us. Hopper killed him but got stuck on the other side of the machine, and he look at me and nodded his head, so I turned off the machine with him on the other side, and he died." Joyce was crying as she finished, and both of her boy's nodded. 

"We did what you told us and we tried to leave, but Billy made the car not able to work, and we had to go back inside to get the part he took out of the car. The mind flayer got to the mall though, and we split up, so it almost killed El, Max, and Mike, but we distracted it. We ran out to the car and Billy almost ran us down but Steve and Robin got there in time and crashed into Billy's car. The mind flayer chased us when it turned around, and we followed it back to the mall where we started to explode it with fireworks. We ran out and El almost died but Billy saved her and got killed instead. The mind flayer died when you closed the portal and you know the rest," Jonathan said. Joyce just stared at them in shock. _They almost died. A lot._

"I can ask Mike tomorrow what happened for them," Will offered. 

"Why can't El," Joyce asked.

"Mom... she might not want to, but you can ask when she wakes up." Joyce only nodded, realizing the point Will made. He was always the smart one. Suddenly, a noise came from behind Joyce, and she turned around. 

_El's P.O.V_

El woke up, and she wished she didn't. All she could think about was Hopper. El looked around and realized she was at the Byers and sighed. _Where will I stay?_ El suddenly heard a voice, and she listened closely. It was Will. 

"I can ask Mike tomorrow what happened for them."

"Why can't El?" Eleven got up and out of the bed and wandered into the hallway, long enough to hear Will speak again.

"Mom... she might not want to, but you can ask when she wakes up." El stepped into the living room, and everyone turned to look at her. 

"Billy... he saw us as we were leaving.... he chased us and cornered us. Max tried to talk to him but he hit her.... knocked her out. Mike tried to hit him but he threw Mike against the wall and knocked him out too..... I think the same happened to me, but it's very fuzzy. I think I was hit here," El said, showing the gash on her head before going on, "What I do remember is what happened next. I woke up to hear a voice and saw Billy over me.....he was really blurry... He told me to stay still and that it would be over soon. Everything came into focus as I saw the mind flayer. I tried to back away but then there were fire works.... I tried to get away but Billy wouldn't let me. Will... Jonathan... remember when I went into Billy's mind?"

"Yeah," they replied together.

"Why," Jonathan asked.

"Do you remember the woman I talked about?" Both of them nodded, and El continued. "I think that was his mother... so when he was holding me down and I couldn't use my powers..... I thought of her. I described her too him and he started crying. _He_ could hear me... not the mind flayer.... and he stood up and sacrificed himself for me...." El started to cry a little, and Joyce stood up and hugged her. Suddenly, Will and Jonathan joined in, and they stayed that way for about a minute before letting go. 

"El, why don't we get you washed up," Joyce asked. El nodded, and Joyce lead her to the bathroom. El got into the bath once they filled it up, and Joyce helped wash her hair.

"Was it like this with Bob?" 

"The pain," Joyce asked.

"Yes."

"Everyone feels different amounts of grief, but yes, it felt like this." El started to cry again, and Joyce did to. 

"How did he die?"

"I-we were about to turn the machine off but got attacked by a Russian. Once Hopper killed him, the machine broke and there was a barrier of electricity and Hop couldn't get through to me. He nodded for me to turn off the machine, and I did.....I'm so sorry...." El cried louder, and Joyce stroked her back. When El had calmed down, she looked at Joyce.

"Where will I stay?"

"With us... if you want to-"

"I do." Joyce nodded and they finished the bath and El got dressed. Joyce lead her to Jonathan's room and El got in bed. They were both still crying, but it was less now. Joyce turned off the light and stroked El's hair, and she started to drift into sleep. 

_The machine roared in El's ear as Hopper stood on the other side of it. The electricity prevented Jim from crossing over to El, and she started to cry._

_"Dad! Please, find a way out!" Hopper shook his head, and El started to cry more._

_"I love you kiddo." Suddenly, the machine exploded, and Hopper turned to ash while El screamed._

_"NOOOOOOO!"_

El woke with a start, and realized she was screaming. Joyce, Jonathan, and Will all raninto the room and El sobbed. 

"You okay," Jonathan asked, walking over to her.

"It was just a nightmare, I'm sorry for waking you." 

"Non-sense. I had them too after everything," Will said. El looked at him and back at Joyce, and then to Jonathan. 

"You can sleep with us if you want," Jonathan offered. 

"Thank you," El said after a moment. Will got blankets for El to sleep on and Jonathan got pillows. After setting up in Will's room, they all said goodnight and went to sleep. El, however, stayed awake. She knew that if she did sleep, she would be meet by nightmares, so she just cried to herself quietly. Hopper was gone, and she wasn't going to get him back. _Ever._ Will woke up after an hour of her crying, and made his way over to her. 

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" 

"I'm just a light sleeper." 

"So I did?"

"Again, I'm a light sleeper." They both laughed a little, and El realized it was her first for tonight. 

"Do the nightmares leave?"

"No, but they get better." El nodded and she looked down at her leg.

"How long do you think it will take to heal?" 

"Maybe a month or two. You will probably need crutches...."

"Yeah..."

"What was your nightmare about? If you don't mind-"

"I don't. It was Hopper." Will nodded and they both sighed. 

"Mine was of the upside down." 

"What was it like?"

"In my dreams?"

"No, the upside down." Will shivered, and she felt bad instantly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's fine. I asked you a question. Well, it was cold, like really cold, and the air was really think. It was very grey and there were vines everywhere. I would have you hide all the time and avoid the monsters. I slowly started to starve though and I slowly died. I got out though... thanks to you." 

"Thank you for helping me today... you know with the fireworks and the bite."

"Don't mention it." Both of them smiled, happy that they had some weird shared trauma that they could connect with. During the summer that hadn't talked a lot, so now it was weird to actually have a nice conversation together. Maybe things would be better.... 


	2. A New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven and Joyce go to the doctor to fix her leg up, but chaos soon erupts......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I really liked writing the last chapter so here this one is. Do enjoy!

El woke up to sounds from the kitchen, and she sighed.The events of last night ran through her mind and she looked down at her leg to make sure it was true. When she did, she let out a moan, and she tried to stand up, but ended up tripping and falling. El heard footsteps and saw Jonathan at the door. 

"Here let me help you up," he said. Jonathan grabbed her shoulder and helped her up and into the kitchen. El sat down at the table and saw Will in the living room watching TV. Joyce was making breakfast when El got arrived and she waved at El.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Better the second time..." Joyce nodded and walked over to El.

"Today we are going to the doctor so we can stitch up your leg and get you in crutches or something so you can walk. Okay?"

"Okay." 

"We're leaving at 12 so I will give you some breakfast and you can change so we can go. I also told Mike he could see you tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Yeah." When her breakfast was ready, El ate it while staring of into space. She did the same while getting changed and getting into the car. Joyce must have noticed, because she turned down the radio.

"El, if you want to talk to me you can." She was about to decline, but something popped into her head.

"His funeral. When is it?" 

"I'm still planning it. Tomorrow we are picking out a coffin-"

"But there wasn't a body, right? I over heard you on the phone this morning."

"I- no, there wasn't a body, but a we are doing a coffin out of respect."

"I- I didn't mean to disrespect him..." El said, starting to cry.

"I know you weren't! It's just a saying- oh I'm sorry El." El sniffled, pulling herself together. 

"Oh...it's... it's fine..." The two of them drove to the doctors in silence, feeling pained. When they got there, a doctor showed them to a room.

"Hello!, I'm Dr. Jankens," he said, shaking Joyce's hand. 

"I'm Joyce, and this is El- I mean Jane. We were in the incident a Starcourt yesterday and she injured her leg." Dr. Jankens looked at El's leg for a moment before turning back to Joyce.

"Well, we will need to give Jane an X-Ray to see how bad it is. If it's just as bad as I think, we may need to do surgery on her muscles." Joyce nodded, and El looked at her with confusion. 

"An X-Ray?"

"To look at your bones," Joyce said. El only muttered her understanding and looked back at Dr. Jankens. _He better know what he is doing with my leg._

"Alright Jane, let's get you into an X-Ray room so we can take a look at your leg." Dr. Jankens showed her to a large room with a weird looking machine in it. A sort of bed was next to it, and there was another room off to the side. "Okay Jane, lie down right here and keep your leg here," he said, showing her what to do. He then gave her a blanket to put over her that was very heavy, and he stood in the other room with Joyce. After about 30 seconds, they both came back out to El, and she and Joyce were instructed to go to the waiting room. Once in there, they waited for what felt like forever, the minutes ticking by. 

"Why are they taking so long," El asked.

"They are probably just looking at your X-Ray. It's going to be okay." El sighed, knowing she was right, but everything just felt so weird. Just yesterday, she was fighting the mind flayer, and now Hopper and Billy were dead and her leg was very damaged. It was all just to strange. After waiting for another 15 minutes, Dr. Jankens finally showed up. 

"Follow me," he said. His voice didn't give anything away, but El could tell something must be wrong. The three of them made their way inside a office and she and Joyce sat in two seats while Dr. Jankens sat in the one across the desk. 

"Is it bad," El asked. 

"Well, it's fixable. Your muscles were damaged greatly, but we can fix it with surgery. It will take time to heal, so you will be in crutches for at least a month or two after your surgery, but otherwise, everything will be okay." El looked to Joyce but couldn't read her face. It was like stone. 

"How much will the surgery cost? And when will it happen," Joyce asked.

"Well, we're looking at $6,000, and the soonest we could do it is next week." Joyce's face dropped,and finally El could read it. _Unhappy._

"Could we get it for any less?"

"You could sue the mall and have them pay the cost if you need to..." Joyce's face relaxed, and El felt a little better. "Also, we will give Jane some crutches today for her leg. Would you like to schedule the surgery...." El tuned out what they said next, as she didn't care. El had read what surgery meant in a dictionary, but she had forgotten the meaning. All she knew is that she would have to have it, and it scared her. Dr. Jankens got up after a minute of talking to Joyce and walked out of the room. he came back a moment later with crutches and had El try them on. After giving them a test run, Joyce and El left and went back to the car. On the ride home, El turned to Joyce.

"What is surgery?"

"Oh... it's when they put you to sleep so they can work on your body without hurting you."

"Put me _to sleep_?" 

"Yeah, with anesthesia."

"What is that?"

"It's a drug that helps you sleep." El started to freak out. She had been drugged when she was at the lab doing experiments, and she didn't ever want to do that again.

"I don't want to be drugged."

"The surgery won't work without it. It's to help you." El relaxed a little, but was still unsure of the whole idea of a surgery. When they got back to the house, a bike was waiting out-front, and El's heart lit up a bit. _Mike._ They got inside and sure enought, Mike was on the couch with Will. 

"Mike, I-" Joyce said before being cut off by Mike.

"I know Mrs. Byers but I needed to talk to El. Please?" Joyce looked at El before nodding. 

"Fine," she sighed. 

"Thank you," Mike said. He and El made their way to the porch and sat down, Mike helping El with her crutches. 

"What did you need to talk to me about?"

"I needed to know if last night was okay. I couldn't sleep-"

"Mike, I lost my dad! What do you think?!"

"No, El, I man- what I was trying to say-"

"Mike, why did you really come over?"

"To ask you that!"

"Mike, friends don't lie."

"I-fine, I wanted to hold you. Last night I almost lost my and I didn't even get to say goodbye-"

"WELL I DIDN'T GET TO SAY GOODBYE TO MY DAD!" She had heard enough, and she didn't want to even speak to him right now. _How could he be so selfish. Is he not even think about what I felt like last night? What I went though? All he is doing is talking about himself! And how he felt lonely!_ Hot tears spread down her checks and her nose started to become puffy. Joyce must have heard because she walked out to the porch and grabbed Mike. El saw her whisper to him and he nodded and left the house. She then walked to Eleven and help her up and got her to the couch. At this point, El was sobbing. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. Joyce sat next to her and rubbed her back. El was happy that Will and Jonathan weren't there and that it was only she and Joyce. 

"I don't know if I hate Mike right now or not...." El mustered out, looking at the floor.

"Why is that?"

"Well, he didn't think to comfort me on Hopper, and what he said was pretty selfish, but last night..... well.... there is something I didn't tell you about."

"What?" Eleven sighed, and she looked directly at Joyce. 

"He fought for me so much. When the monster grabbed my leg, he was the first one to me and he pulled the hardest. He asked if I was okay some many times in the car when we drove away from the monster. He was the first to my side when I collapsed in the mall.... when Billy attacked Max, Mike threw himself in-front of me and tried to attack Billy, and when the mind flayer was finally killed, he ran to my side. He also said something in the cabin, and I heard him through the wall. He was having an argument with Max, and he said that he loved me...."

"It sounds like it."

"Then why did he say those things just now?"

"Well, boys can be stupid, but I think that he said some things he didn't mean." El nodded, understanding what she was saying. The sat in silence for a moment before El spoke. 

"I think I loved Hopper, but Mike doesn't feel like the same type of love... if I even do love him...."

"Hopper felt like family, and Mike feels romantic?"

"Yeah. I mean.... do I love Mike?"

"I think you will have to answer that for yourself." 

"I don't want to talk to him right now, but I will soon. I really just want to talk to Max." 

"She might want to be alone for right now..." El mumbled agreement, but she couldn't help but wonder if Max would like to talk.

"Can I try to call her?"

"Sure."El got up with her crutches and walked to the phone. She dialed the house number, and someone picked up.

"Hello," El asked.

"Who is this," a man's voice came from the other side.

"El, Max's friend. Is she home?"

"Yes, she is. Hold on a second." El waited for a minute and finally Max's voice came through. "Hello?"

"Hey Max, it's El. Can you come over to the Byers house, it's where I'm staying."

"Yeah, of course, I'll be right there." El hung up the phone and waited for Max until she arrived on the front porch. 

"Hey," El said, hugging her.

"Hi."

"You wanna come in?"

"Yeah sure." The two girls came to the couch and sat down, El throwing her crutches on the floor.

"How did your parents react," El asked.

"About Billy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Neil kind of through a fit, and I just went to my room and cried. I had 2 nightmares. You?"

"1."

"What about your leg?"

"It needs surgery. Next week."

"Oh shit..." El sighed and Max looked straight at her. "What else happened?" El looked at Max before telling her what happened with Mike. "Well, he sucks," Max said when El was done. 

"Yeah, but I think I forgive him..."

"What?!"

"He protected me so much yesterday."

"I suppose..."

"And it was just a stupid thing he did. But I don't want to talk to him right now...."

"Understandable." All El could think about was Hopper and Billy, and she started to cry. 

"I can't believe their gone...." 

"Me either." Max's face crumbled, and the sat in silence crying together. 

"Do you think Billy is happier now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I-well, I'm not christian, but I hope wherever he is now, I hope he is happy."

"Like heaven?"

"Yeah, like heaven." 

"I hope Hopper is happy too..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo..... I really hope you enjoyed this. Next chapter will be about the surgery. Anyways, thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Holy mother of god.... I just wrote all of that.... I have never written so much before yet here I am. ANYWAYS. I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If I feel good enough, I may write a whole season 4, we will have to see. Anyways, a new chapter will come soon. Cya!


End file.
